Matthew Kantakouzenos

Matthew Asen Kantakouzenos was born around 1325 into the tangled dynasties of late Byzantium. He became Byzantine Emperor in 1353, holding the throne until 1357 in a period when the empire's reach had shrunk to a shadow. After losing power, he spent two decades in obscurity. In 1380 he returned to public life as Despot of the Morea, governing the rocky southern peninsula for a year before stepping down in 1381. He died in June 1383, one more name in the long queue of emperors who watched Byzantium contract.